NASA Launches Free Online Archive Of Space Research Studies

First Posted: Aug 23, 2016 06:54 AM EDT
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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched a free online sharing archive to make their funded journal articles available for public viewing - which is definitely free for everyone.

The space agency called their archive PubSpace and promises to make all their research and data available to anyone who wishes to use them. These articles are often hidden under the terms of purchase and subscription of scientific journals. NASA instructed the National Institutes of Health to manage PubSpace and treat it as part of their PubMed Central database.

NASA decided to respond to the request of the White House of Science and Technology Policy in 2013 to create a public database open worldwide. The office aims to create an "Open Science" initiative to encourage the public's interest in the field and increase the research funded by the government.

"Science research supported by the Federal Government catalyzes innovative breakthroughs that drive our economy," said John Holden, the director of the OSTP. "The results of that research become the grist for new insights and are assets for progress in areas such as health, energy, the environment, agriculture, and national security."

Albeit NASA seems open that ever to the public, they still set limits to what the people can access. NASA clarified that they are requiring all NASA-funded authors and co-authors (both from civil and non-civil servants) to submit copies of their peer-reviewed scientific articles and data within a year from the date of publish. But the wanted everyone to take note that "patents, publications that contain material governed by personal privacy, export control, proprietary restrictions, or national security law or regulations" will not be uploaded in PubSpace.

"Making our research data easier to access will greatly magnify the impact of our research," said Ellen Stofan, a chief scientist of NASA. "As scientists and engineers, we work by building upon a foundation laid by others." The limitations are negligible since the primary aim is to help other scientists and "permanently preserve and provide easy public access" on thousands of scientific papers, as described by NASA. Although there are just about 850 scientific journals uploaded during their launch this week.

PubSpace is already running and ready for reader's thirsty minds. However, the space agency said it wouldn't be fully functional until late 2016. You can access PubSpace in this link.

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